I'm still afloat

I'm still floating...so to speak, but I wouldn't call myself chirpy! Am hoping that if I take it easy over the next couple of days, I won't get really knocked down by it. hmmm take it easy, sort of a funny comment considering we are over here doing nothing on holidays! So sorry about that for you folks that are back home doing it hard at work. ;)

Geoff is a man on a mission. The Spinnaker that we hoped we had, we hauled up yesterday to check it out. No good too big and too light weight. So Geoff is going to check out another second hand one today a smaller size, but 1.5 oz in weight, so hopefully more suited to our needs. Otherwise we may just have to buy a new one off the shelf in a size that comes close to what we need. Geoff has also thought that getting a spinnaker sock maybe a good idea. Ah you say, what is a spinnaker sock? Not for keeping it's toes warm but it allows you to get the Spinnaker up and down much easier, it slips over the spinnaker to create, well a big sausage! Then you can pull the sock down to fly the kite and easily pull it back up to douse it. Sounds sweet hey?

The only task I got crossed off the list yesterday was to order the official Registration plate. Once you are a Australian registered vessel you must display the Official registration number and your LOA (length overall) on a fixed plate or burned into a integral bulkhead of your vessel. On Timana and Geodesy we had timber plates, but because Sea Otter is a bit fancier and more modern than our other girls, we have ordered her a nice shiny brushed stainless steel plate with engraved black lettering. For only $54 US!!! delivered!!! within a week!! And I could do it all online while I am sick as a dog. Now that's easy!

Have I mentioned the wine over here? No, wine like all booze can be bought in the supermarket between the food lines and the cleaning products. Appropriate positioning I suppose. I bought a litre of my favourite Whisky Canadian Club for $21 US. That is a very good price. Wine you can get casks, which are suited to cruising, less likely to smash if you are in heavy weather. But, wine in bottles is pretty good deal too. You can buy quite a good range of Aussie wines; Wolf Blass, Lindemans, etc. I got a Wolf Blass red and a white for Dinah and Roger for $5 a bottle!!! Now that is cheaper than you can get the same yellow labels back home. Geoff is continuing drinking one of his old time fav beers, Moosehead Canadian for $12 a 12 pack. But the other day when I was buying him a 6 pack, a dude came up to grab some beer next to me, he saw me checking out the options and recommended this "Fosters Ma'am, best you can drink" Haaaaaahaaaa, had me chuckling for ages. I didn't want to break it to him that I was an Aussie and most Aussie blokes think Fosters is crap!

Well I better finish up for today and try and do some actual work, my next project is to confirm entry requirements for yachts entering French Polynesia. Aussies don't need a Visa for 30 days and less, however you need to either show sufficient funds to be able to fly the crew out, ie: post a $1800 US bond per crew member or have air tickets out to your home country. So I will check with Sascha our trusty Paragliding Travel agent in Bright, about the cost of getting fully refundable air tickets, or I could check using a local Polynesian Agent who for a fee (not sure what yet) can get you cleared without the need for either (I believe) So that's my project for today. Hmm that and maybe the washing up.